Practice Safe Winter Sports

Every year, thousands of children and adults in the U.S. are treated at Emergency departments for head injuries related to winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, sledding and snowmobiling.

In fact, according to the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, up to 27% of reported injuries involve the head and/or face. It has become the predominant type of injury in downhill skiing, accounting for 50-88% of downhill skiing fatalities. A bump on the head doesn’t have to be severe to be life-threatening — just remember the tragic case of actress Natasha Richardson whose seemingly uneventful fall while skiing resulted in a deadly head injury.

How can you stay safe in winter?

Most important, wear sport-specific helmets or protective headgear approved by ASTM International, a leader in the development of international voluntary standards for product quality and safety. Or wear a helmet that meets or exceeds the safety standards developed by the American National Standards Institute, or the Snell Memorial Foundation.

Wearing a helmet that is properly fitted and worn correctly, as well as taking other precautions can protect you and your family from traumatic brain injury and other types of injuries to the head.

“While death from head injuries on the ski slopes is relatively rare, minor head injury is not. Helmets provide protection in decreasing the likelihood of concussion and other minor head injuries. Though minor, these head injuries can have serious long term consequences including diminished IQ and eventual dementia,” says Bruce Cook, MD, a Lowell General Hospital neurosurgeon.

Dr. Cook offers these additional safety tips to reduce the risk of head injuries:

Don’t participate in sports when you’re ill, tired or have consumed alcohol

Don’t participate in sports in hazardous weather conditions

Be cautious when driving snowmobiles and stay on marked trails

Use only sleds that can be steered, and never go down a slope head first

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